Method for fabricating a carpet unit



Feb. 2l, 1961 H. LEA

METHOD Fox FABRICATING A CARPET UNIT Original Filed April 50. 1959 r FI .IN V EN TOR. #ar/0n l.. ed

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 24,937 METHOD `FOR FABRICATING A `CARPET UNIT HarlanL. Lea, Wapakoneta, Ohio, assignor to D. W.

Moor Rubber Corporation, Wapakoneta, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio 1 v l original No. 2,930,729, dared Mar. 29, 1960, ser. No. A810,169, Apr. 30, 1959. Application for reissue July 2s, 1960, ser. N6. 46,043

i 3 claims. (c1. 154-118) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specilication; matter printed in italics indicates the additions `made by reissue.

This invention relates to a method for fabricating a carpet vunit and more particularly to a method for fabricating a unit of carpeting which may be handled, assembled and laid in a manner similar to the manner in which so-called tiles made from rubber, cork, vinyl resin, etc., are laid. r

The method of the invention has for its principal object the utilization of waste material and the treatment of thatmaterial in such manner as to assemble it into a carpet unit or mat of standard modular dimension' which can be assembled with similar units for the covering of a oor or other surface with a carpet-like material having great strength and resistance to wear. The carpet unit fabricated according to the invention has particular utility in places such as publice'levators, publicw fabrication of carpet Aunits from which carpetflike areas of oor covering can be readily fabricated and which will possess great wearing qualities.

These and more specific objects and advantages will be readily understood from the specification which follows and from the drawings illustrating various steps of the method according to the invention, in which:

Fig. I is a View on a small scale and in perspective of a pneumatic tire -carcass which serves as a source of raw material from which the carpet unit is fabricated according to the invention;

Fig. II is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in perspective of a strip of material cut from the tire carcass in Fig. I;

Fig. III is a vertical sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic in nature, illustratingA how the pieces such as the piece illustrated in Fig. II are initially treated to place them in con-dition for assembly into a carpet unit according to the invention;

Fig. IV is a fragmentary view in perspective lillustrating the assembly of a group of treated pieces for the fabrication of a carpet unit according to the invention;

Fig. V is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken along the line V-V of Fig. IV;

Fig. VI is a view similar to Fig. V but showing the assembled pieces of carpeting being unitized; and

Fig. VII is a perspective view of a carpet unit fabricated according to the method of the invention.

This invention consists of a method for fabricating carpet units from pile strips which have been fabricated from waste tire carcasses according to Weiner Patent No. 2,338,828, issued January 11, 1944, and the description of the method according to the invention will be 2 lprefacedin this specification by a brief description of the manner in which the basic pile strips are fabricatedaccording to the Weiner disclosure. p v

A tire carcass 10 consists of a plurality of plies `or layers of woven fabric embedded in a body of rubber. The tire carcass is made by laminating the layers of fabric in the rubber in such a way that, looking down upon the face of the tread area of the tire carcass, the threads of the fabric extend on the bias relative to the axis of the tire. vAfter the tire carcassl has been utilized sufiiciently long so that its tread area is completely removed and the carcass is not suitable for further retreading or recapping, it becomes what amounts to a waste material. According to the Weiner patent, circumferentially extending strips of this waste material are sliced from the carcass. Such a strip is indicated by the dotted line 11 in Fig. I and shown in fragmentary perspective in Fig. II.

The strip 11, when cut from the tire carcass 10, has the layers of fabric generally indicated at 12 extending horizontally therein with the threads of the fabric eX- tending on the bias relative to both the length and transversel dimension of the strip 11. Proceeding according to the `Weiner patent, the strip 11 is run through a machine with its fabric layers turned on edge as shown in Fig. III, and fed beneath a picker wheel diagrammatically indicated by the reference number 13 in Fig. III which rotates against the upper surface of the strip 11 to cut .away massesiof rubber between the ends of the cords in the fabric layers 12. This leaves a plurality of tufts vgenerally indicatedat 14 extending upwardly from the upper surface of the strip 11, the tufts forming a pile on the-strip much like the pile formed in a conventional woven carpet.

After the strips 11 are prepared according to the Weiner disclosure and as briefly described above, a plurality of strips of selected length are assembled together in parallel adjacent relationship as shown in Fig.A IV. In Fig. IV strips 1 1 are s hown placed side by side within the coniines of a molding tray generally indicated at 15 and on a thin layer of uncured rubber 16 which is spread over a solid bottom 17 thereof. Side walls 18 of the tray 16 are slightly lower than the combined thickness of the strips 11 and the layer 16.

Prior to the assembly of the strips 11 in the tray 15, the layer 16 of uncured rubber is spread over the bottom of the Itray 15. While the layer 16 may be merely uncured rubber, a stronger and more wear ref sistant structure may be fabricated by using a layer of rubber friction stock comprising uncured rubber in which is embedded a nylon or rayon fabric 19 (see Fig. VII). If such la sheet of friction stock is prepared, it is cut in, say, s" slabs having lateral dimensions equal to the lateral dimensions of the carpet units to be fabricated, and, after suitable aging and cleaning, is placed in the bottom of thetray 15.

After the assembly of the strips 11 on the layer 16 in the tray 15, the tray 15 containing the group -of strips 11 is placed upon a platen 20 having heating coils 21 therein and located beneath a flat surface, movable platen 22 of a suitable press. The upper platen 22 is then closed downwardly to tightly compress the mass of strips 11 and the rubber layer 16 together, and heated to a temperature of about 300 to 320 F. and at, say, 500 pounds per square inch pressure, the press being left closed for a period of six minutes or so to cure and vulcanize the rubber together into a unitary structure.

A unitary carpet structure 23 made according to the invention is shown in perspective in Fig. VII. The lateral dimensions of this structure are chosen to be modular in size. for example 9" by 9", or 12" by 12", so

`that complete oor areas may -be covered by assembling unitary structures such as `the structure 23 of Fig. VII together in adjacent edge to edge relationship and bonding lthem to the 'surface vto be covered by -a :suitable -surface adhesive.

A carpet unit 23 prepared according `'to the `invention (which may or may not `include the `-baselreinforcing material v19) has the vvac'lv'antage that 'each of the threads forming the pile of ttifts 14 is rsecurelybonded `into the body of therubber of vvthe strips 11 and, 'fthrou'gh vulcanization y'and curing, to `the base layer 1'6 so that the several strips lose their Aidentity va11"d"be'come@afsin-gle "unitary structure. 4Because the tufts 114.are lso1tig'htly bonded in the bodies of the strips 11 and thus Vintothe carpet unit 23, each *individual lthread is protected vby 'the body of the unit 23,-and dirt and grit which is forced into the pile of 'the tufts `14 `does Vnot break ofthe indiv`vidual threads forming the ttufts 14. If1`hefcarpetunit 23 assembled with similar -units `to form :an area of :carpeting is thus extremely iresistantto Wear and yet may :be cleaned in a manner similar to'other'i'carpeting by vacuuming or by suit-able scrubbing.

Because the carpet units 23 have 'modularlateral "dimensions, numbers of them fmay be assembled together in a manner similar to the laying of `tiles `to provide, ffor example, a wall to wall 'carpeting layer in locations -`receiving extreme Wear and' they `maybe laid by much less skilled labor than vis requiredtollay'or'dinary carpeting in the locations in question.

I'claim:

1. A method for fabricating a carpet unit comprising, cutting circum'ferentially extending s'tripsof material from the tread portion of a fabric reinforced pneumatic tire icasin'g, said strips having `identical rectilinear cross sec- 'tions and vlengths many times their transverse dimensions, 'flbrading the vsides "of said strips fortrem'oving the V'rlibb'er matrix from between the reinforcing cords therein *for exposing'the ends 'of said cords to a'depth suicient for exposing an appreciable textilerpile, forming a layer Vof'uncuredrubber in the bottom of a pan vhaving a length 'and width equal to the lateral dimensions of the unit *to be fabricated, cutting said strips to a length'equal to vthe `interior length of-saidipan, assembling `a pluralit-ylofv said strips in tight parallelrelationship in said pan and on said layer of uncured rubber with the exposed textile pile uppermost, the sides of said pan extending upwardly less than the height of the ibodies of said strips, applying heat to ksaid pan and `compressing said -strips .and vlayer together in a direction normal to their "faces for curing yand vulcanizing 'lsaid f'strips. and said "layer into V'a unitary structure.

2. A method according to claim l Iin -which a layer of rreinforcing fabric-:issembeddedtin'said layer'of yuncured,

rubber ylrefolsesaid strips are .assembled thereon.

3. A method for fabricating a carpet unitrcompr'ising cutting circamferentiallyv extending strips of material from the tread portion of a fabric reinforced pneumatic tire casing, said strips -having identical rectilinear cross secvtions and lengths 'manyatimesz their `transverse dimensions,

uzz'b'rading the sides of Lsaidrstrips foriremoving the 'rubber matrix from between the reinforcing cords 'therein vfor exposing the ends of said cords to a depth su'icient for exposing :an :appreciable textile pile, Vforming a` layer of vuncured rubber iin t the. bottom of `a pan having a ylength and Awidth-.equal t'othe lateral dimensions ofthezunitfto :be fabricated, cutting said `strips to a length wequaltolhe interior length :o-said pan, assemblinga. plurality of said strips in parallel relationship in saidl pan vand on said Vlayer' -of luncared rubber ywith the 4exposed :textile pile uppermost, the i sidesvof rsaidpany extending upwardly less `than thefheight of the bodiesrofsaid strips, applyingvh'eat 4tasaid pan and vcompressing, said stripsy and vlayer ytogether :in aldirecton normal to :their facesjor curing `and vulcanizing 'said stripsrand said Ilayerinto auntarystructure.

'References Cited inthe-tile of 'this patent orthe orig'inal patent UNITED STATES yPATENTS .1,746,948 King t.. Feb.i11,1`930 "1,815,558 lGammeter July 2l, 1931 l2,144,683 MeC1ung Jan. 24,1939' FOREIGN PATENTS `460,067 iGreatfBritainz Jan. '20, 1937 

